Nestled among hardship, a tree shines brightly

Glenn Rutledge, a resident of Gainesville's tent city, is pictured near the Tent City Christmas Tree on Christmas Day. The tree, adorned with candy canes, foil ornaments and battery powered lights, was created by several residents in an effort to bring holiday cheer to the homeless.

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It snakes along a fence at first, then opens up underneath some power lines until a large, brown pipe interrupts the way. It's about 5 feet up over sludgy water, and maybe 6 feet long. Then, it's a swath of tents and dark tarps.

On Christmas Day, it's quiet, save for the rustling of the breeze through tall tree leaves.

“It's not like the Waltons,” resident Glenn Rutledge said, referring to the nostalgic TV show of the 1970s, “but it's good-natured people that look after each other.''

For many in the makeshift community, located in the woods south of the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, near Southeast Fourth Street, it's just another day. Regardless, Bill Gray did what he could with what he had, and last Friday put up the community's Christmas tree, in front of a tent next to the path.

The skinny trail breaks off to the right and left here and there, into clusters of black, blue and gray tarp over camping tents. There are dogs that pull on leashes before a central junction where a tall white cross stands -- an outreach from a local pastor -- Rutledge said.

A little further down, near the road, is a section of tents on some land that drops off steeply into more forest. There's a woman, she says her name is Mom, and she's confined to her bed. She said she was recently hit by a car. She'd get up if she could, she said, but she planned to lay with her knee up all day.

Despite her situation, she was happy to point out the nearby Christmas tree and its battery pack-powered lights.

“It's a lovely little thing,” she said.

The tree is skinny. On its spindly leaves, people have put candy canes and ribbons to decorate it. There's an earbud from headphones hanging off one branch, and a white ribbon on top of it. It's based in a pot, wrapped around a red blanket.

If you plug in a battery pack, the tree pulses with light.

“It's meant to be a Merry Christmas for the homeless,” Rutledge said.

For Rutledge, Christmas is a day to sit and listen to the Knicks game on his radio. When he was young, around 6, he said he remembers waking up one morning to find a brand new bicycle in a box. Putting it together is his favorite Christmas memory.

He said he attended Gainesville High School, where he played football.

“I had a couple of bad steps,” he said. “It got to a point where (tent city) is not as inconvenient as it may appear.”

He tries to make the best of it, he said.

“Christmas here is not about the gift giving and cliches like that,” he said. “It's about life. But I know it's a time when happiness is supposed to abound. There's a lot of candy giving this time of year.”

The tree itself might not look like much, he said, but what it represents is important for his community.

“It almost looks like it might keep growing into a big tree,” he said, “but it also might just wither away.” He laughed.

He makes a point to mention that although it might not look like much to most people, the area is a community nonetheless.

He said most of the residents were out at churches and outreach programs this Christmas morning. He walked across the path to his tent, next to his neighbor Jimmy. The radio echoed, and he sat down in front of his tent.

“You try to be happy the majority of the time,” he said, “but you take it day by day.”

<p>The path to the “Tent City'' Christmas tree starts where a paved road ends. There's a foot-formed path wide enough for one, with waist-high brown weeds framing the sides like Moses' parted Red Sea.</p><p>It snakes along a fence at first, then opens up underneath some power lines until a large, brown pipe interrupts the way. It's about 5 feet up over sludgy water, and maybe 6 feet long. Then, it's a swath of tents and dark tarps.</p><p>On Christmas Day, it's quiet, save for the rustling of the breeze through tall tree leaves.</p><p>“It's not like the Waltons,” resident Glenn Rutledge said, referring to the nostalgic TV show of the 1970s, “but it's good-natured people that look after each other.''</p><p>For many in the makeshift community, located in the woods south of the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, near Southeast Fourth Street, it's just another day. Regardless, Bill Gray did what he could with what he had, and last Friday put up the community's Christmas tree, in front of a tent next to the path.</p><p>The skinny trail breaks off to the right and left here and there, into clusters of black, blue and gray tarp over camping tents. There are dogs that pull on leashes before a central junction where a tall white cross stands -- an outreach from a local pastor -- Rutledge said.</p><p>A little further down, near the road, is a section of tents on some land that drops off steeply into more forest. There's a woman, she says her name is Mom, and she's confined to her bed. She said she was recently hit by a car. She'd get up if she could, she said, but she planned to lay with her knee up all day.</p><p>Despite her situation, she was happy to point out the nearby Christmas tree and its battery pack-powered lights.</p><p>“It's a lovely little thing,” she said.</p><p>The tree is skinny. On its spindly leaves, people have put candy canes and ribbons to decorate it. There's an earbud from headphones hanging off one branch, and a white ribbon on top of it. It's based in a pot, wrapped around a red blanket.</p><p>If you plug in a battery pack, the tree pulses with light.</p><p>“It's meant to be a Merry Christmas for the homeless,” Rutledge said.</p><p>For Rutledge, Christmas is a day to sit and listen to the Knicks game on his radio. When he was young, around 6, he said he remembers waking up one morning to find a brand new bicycle in a box. Putting it together is his favorite Christmas memory.</p><p>He said he attended Gainesville High School, where he played football.</p><p>“I had a couple of bad steps,” he said. “It got to a point where (tent city) is not as inconvenient as it may appear.”</p><p>He tries to make the best of it, he said.</p><p>“Christmas here is not about the gift giving and cliches like that,” he said. “It's about life. But I know it's a time when happiness is supposed to abound. There's a lot of candy giving this time of year.”</p><p>The tree itself might not look like much, he said, but what it represents is important for his community.</p><p>“It almost looks like it might keep growing into a big tree,” he said, “but it also might just wither away.” He laughed.</p><p>He makes a point to mention that although it might not look like much to most people, the area is a community nonetheless.</p><p>He said most of the residents were out at churches and outreach programs this Christmas morning. He walked across the path to his tent, next to his neighbor Jimmy. The radio echoed, and he sat down in front of his tent.</p><p>“You try to be happy the majority of the time,” he said, “but you take it day by day.”</p>